Peer-to-peer communication over the Internet can be effected in several ways. Perhaps the most common is email, in which users communicate with each other by sending messages through respective email servers to each other's email address. Plainly, email communication requires a priori knowledge of a recipient's email address.
Instant Messaging (IM) is also used, in which two users, using a special IM program that they both must obtain, communicate with each other using prearranged IM addresses. Stated differently, to communicate using IM, both users must obtain a special IM program and both must prearrange to communicate over IM by exchanging IM addresses.
Yet another Internet communication method is chat, in which users can “join” a chat room hosted on the Internet to communicate with each other. An example of chat is provided by Myspace. In one implementation a user must be logged in to a special chat server to chat with another user who is also logged in to the special chat server. This system requires the receiving user to be logged in and looking at his/or her profile page, while the calling visitor is also looking at the same profile page. In another chat implementation, a client program can be downloaded to allow two users to communicate with each other, but as in the former implementation both users must log in separately to the downloaded client program on the one and only one hosting server.
With the above overview in mind, the present invention makes the following critical observations about current Internet communication methods. Typically, use of chat requires the divulgation of an email address to unknown users, who can use the email address for unwanted spamming, unwanted contact, etc. Accordingly, it would be desirable to permit users to communicate with each other peer-to-peer without revealing their identity or email address simply to initiate contact, although having the option of screening is also desirable in some circumstances.
Still further, the present invention understands that if the above critical observations are addressed, several additional advantageous features may be introduced, including, as further described below, allowing people to instantly communicate with people they don't already know using what might be thought of as a digital caller ID using personas and reputation to introduce users to each other without revealing private information.